Stan & Ollie - Review

If you asked anyone who watched Jon S. Baird's adaptation of Irvine Welsh's Filth that featured a career-best performance from James McAvoy what his next project would be, it is doubtful any of them would have picked a biopic of one of the greatest comedy duos of all-time Laurel and Hardy.

The two are worlds apart with the only real connection being that Bruce Robinson would have certainly gotten them into plenty of fine messes.

However it is clear with every frame of Stan & Ollie that Baird is a genuine fan of the double act and that love and appreciation shines through the screen. Whether that be in a pitch perfect recreation of their iconic dance from Way Out West or their hilarious theatrical stage routines.

However Baird is not afraid to peek behind the curtain and show that behind the make up and fame was a very tumultuous and complicated relationship between the two performers.

Biopics that play out as simple rags-to-riches tales that speed through all the big moments like a jukebox musical playing all the hits can be crowdpleasing but ultimately shallow and dull affairs (*cough* Bohemian Rhapsody*). It is refreshing to find one that focuses on a story or period of history that the public may not be too familiar with in order to show the world who these people really are (or were).

Following the acrimonious break up of the duo due to Laurel's stubbornness over his contract, the two went their separate ways before falling on harder times and reuniting for a theatre tour in the UK with the eye on securing finance for a future film that would put them back on top.

As the two former partners and friends travel round the country performing some of their classic routines to audiences who have moved on with the times, it is clear that they are carrying round more baggage than just their carry on luggage.

The performances of Steve Coogan as Laurel and John C. Reilly as Hardy are spot on, with Reilly disappearing under some impressive make up to become the duo and the two actors spark off each other both on stage and off as they seek to resolve their differences before it's too late.

The chemistry between the two transfers over to the other relationships in their lives, their wives (played with steel and scene-stealing guile by Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda) but it is clear who the real love of their lives was. It is no coincidence that Laurel (and others) refer to Hardy as "Babe".

The result is an affectionate tribute that packs a surprisingly emotional punch that will have audiences crying tears of sadness and laughter to the point their faces will look like another fine mess they have gotten themselves into.

4 stars

We Need To Talk About Kevin - review

We Need To Talk About Kevin is one of the most visually arresting films of the year but unlike films such as Tree of Life and Melancholia which I accused of being "pretentious and style over substance", Kevin is a deeply thought provoking study of the age old debate of "nature versus nurture" as a mother attempts to rebuild her life following a terrible crime perpetrated by her son, and forces herself to look back at her life and figure out if Kevin was born as bad as Damien from The Omen or if his behaviour was ultimately her fault.

Tilda and Kevin nervously waited backstage for their turn to audition for Britain's Got Talent

The film's structure differs from that of the novel, using flashbacks rather than Eva's letters to her ex-husband, but it works due to director Lynne Ramsay's total control over the medium and her use of visuals, sound and storytelling.  She allows the audience to put the missing pieces together and draw their own conclusions as who is to blame.  Although, and this might sound a tad harsh, I think that if I was raised by Tilda Swinton, I might have turned out a little odd too.
Swinton puts in a fantastic multi-layered performance as the mother of the devil.  She appears as a ghost in her own life following the tragedy, searching for an answer to the impossible question "WHY?", and during the flashbacks it is a role that draws similarities to Lee Remick in The Omen, where she is the only one who can see the evil growing inside her own spawn.
Oscar winner Swinton however more than meets her match in the form of the three boys who play Kevin at various stages throughout his adolescence.  Ezra Miller has rightly been receiving plaudits for his malevolent dead eyed enigma, but in my own humble opinion, Jaspar Newell who plays Kevin between the ages of 6-8 is just as good.  It is a very mature and sinister portrayal for someone so young.
Don't go in expecting any clear cut answers but there is enough going on in this film that when it's all over, you'll be guaranteed to be talking about Kevin.

4 stars